Added 8 October 2026
lens
/lɛnz/ noun
Latin root: lēns Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lens at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it.
- A device which focuses or defocuses other waves or radiation, such as microwave radiation, electron beams, sound waves (acoustic lenses), or explosions (explosive lenses).
- A convex shape bounded by two circular arcs, joined at their endpoints, the corresponding concave shape being a lune.
verb
Origin
Borrowed from Latin lēns (“lentil”), with Medieval Latin later taking on the sense of “lens”, a semantic loan from Arabic عَدَسَة (ʕadasa, “lentil; optic lens”); the similar shape is the common factor.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)